Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Budget Was Over $200 Million Before Multiple Reshoots

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was already a very expensive movie production for Warner Bros., topping $200 million BEFORE the cast and crew went back in for additional reshoots. In a lengthy new feature titled, “Warner Bros.’ Quest to Build a Better ‘Aquaman’ Sequel: 3 Reshoots, Two Batmans and Non-Stop Test Screenings” (yikes!) we take a deeper look (pun) about the crazy currents that Aquaman 2 has been riding from production to release. Part of that exposé includes the following budgetary details: 

Lost Kingdom is already an expensive production. It was greenlit at a $205 million budget and shot during the pandemic, which was a burdensome expense on tentpole productions. Additionally, every frame of the movie involves visual effects, another major cost. The reshoots have only raised that overall budget.

The first Aquaman had a reported production budget of $160-200 million, in order to create the undersea world of Atlantis through extensive visual effects work – not to mention the complicated process of filming actual maritime sequences with the cast. The fact that Aquaman 2 falls within that same budgetary range is both expected and a bit surprising, in that there wasn’t a more significant increase with the sequel.

That all said, the first Aquaman also made $1.148 billion dollars worldwide – but there are very few hopes that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be able to equal that success. As we wrote: The Flash has shown that the overall brand strength of the DC Universe has eroded significantly since the announcement that James Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting things under DC Studios. As one of the last films being released in the old “SnyderVerse” era of DC, Aquaman 2 is already being viewed as an irrelevant piece of product by many fans. 

Now, this feature by THR is only further indicating that the project was a mess behind the scenes. The report notes multiple test screenings, re-edits, and reshoots of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom between Summer of 2022 and now, including a complete shift in how Batman is involved, and which actor was playing him. Originally Michael Keaton’s Batman was supposed to follow his debut in The Flash with a cameo in Aquaman 2 that made him a franchise mainstay; now Ben Affleck’s Batman is the one making an appearance (presumably his final one). James Gunn and co. reportedly approved a third set of reshoots that allegedly went well, and could help better position Lost Kingdom for the new DC Universe franchise reboot that follows. 

But unless Aquman and the Lost Kingdom can wow fans more than, say, Avatar: The Way of Water with underwater action and spectacle; or tell a DC superhero story with such mainstream appeal the masses flood into theaters again (pun), then it’s hard to see this sequel recouping a $200+ million production cost, when no DC movie sequel has been successful since The Dark Knight. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be in theaters on December 20th.